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Taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights is an international treaty which came into force in 1953. Today, 45 countries across Europe have ratified the Convention, and thereby obliged themselves to guarantee the rights set out in the Convention to everyone within their jurisdiction. Over the years, a number of protocols have been added to the Convention, guaranteeing further rights for individuals. Most of the countries that are parties to the Convention have incorporated it into their domestic legislation, so that individuals can rely on the Convention rights directly before the national authorities. The United Kingdom incorporated the Convention with the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into force on 2 October 2000. However, even in countries that have not incorporated the Convention, the State is under an obligation to ensure the rights therein to individuals within its jurisdiction. If an individual feels that his/her rights have been violated, and would like to complain to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, one has to bear in mind that the jurisdiction of the Court is limited. Complaints can only be considered if they meet the admissibility criteria set out in Article 35 of the Convention. These can be summarised as follows. The complaint: • must be made by an eligible person According to the Convention, a complaint can be brought only by "any person, non-governmental organisation or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation". • must concern a Convention issue The Court can only examine complaints which relate to the rights and freedoms contained in the Convention. The Court is NOT an appeal court and can therefore not examine complaints that the domestic courts "got it wrong" and made the wrong the decision. • must concern a time when the State was bound by the Convention The Court cannot consider a complaint concerning a violation before the State in question had ratified the Convention. • must concern a violation in the jurisdiction to which the Convention extends States can only be liable for violations that occur within their jurisdiction. • must only be made after all domestic remedies have been exhausted The Court can only examine a complaint after the applicant has tried the case in all appropriate and effective courts/tribunals in the relevant State. • must be made within six months of the exhaustion of the last domestic remedy This deadline is applied very stringently by the Court, and an application MUST be introduced within this time limit. Applications to the Court should be sent to: The
Registrar For further information see also the Court's website: www.dhcour.coe.fr The AIRE Centre assists individuals in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights. Please contact us if you want more information on this service. |
